The morning arose as the sun's golden glow illuminated across the landscapes. The buzzing sound of the cicadas echoed throughout the forest. Walking across the cobblestoned road, heading north, was Keya and Akio as they headed upward to Strongfair. They had walked a mile away from their campsite and didn't stop to enjoy the scenery.

Stretching his arms before hearing them crack, Akio turned to Keya and asked, "So, are we any closer to the town?"

"Indeed, we are. We're about an hour away from reaching Strongfair," She informed gladly, checking the map setting before turning back to me.

That's a relief! I thought we were going to be walking forever. However, I can't help shaking the feeling we were being watched.

Observing from a distance, Leni carefully leaped from branch to branch, making sure not to be discovered by her targets. She thought: It's been four days since I've been sent to spy on those two, but it'll all be over when I've got enough information to prove that this "Akio" boy is the hero summoned to this world! After the ordeal that happened at that Goblin Campsite—Creator rests their souls—and the boar fight that happened yesterday, I still don't have enough evidence to support it. Gods! When is something else going to happen, so I can go home?! She groaned in frustration as she started losing little patience.

Snapping out of her train of thought, Leni panicked, noticing how much she had lost track as the two were now far from where she was. She quickly dashed to catch up.

Shit! I trailed off again! The Representatives will have my head if I lose sight of the hero!

Meanwhile, Keya and Akio had finally arrived at Strongfair's entrance and compared to the previous places they were at, the town was much different.

"Umm…is this the right place," Akio asked in bewilderment. Keya felt the same, having a similar astonished expression on her face.

A giant wall made out of steel surrounded the town with the only access inside was a giant double door made of strong oak. Lucky for the two, the door was opened all the way, allowing them to see the entire interior. As a forge town, Strongfair lived up to its' name.

Looking at the map, Keya cringed in intimidation as she replied, "Yes, this is the place."

They took a minute to take it all in. with a deep breath, Keya and Akio quickly sauntered in as they did not want to keep the people behind them waiting.

The two looked around and were amazed by the sight before them. On every corner were smith shops, selling various weapons and appliances, from swords to even forks and spoons. Keya and Akio were astonished by how many blacksmiths populated the town, watching them work as they forged outside of their shops in outdoor smithies.

"Look Akio! They even have elven smiths too!" Keya remarked, pointing at a shop to her left.

While they saw many human blacksmiths, they were amazed at smiths of other races as well.

"Hey, Keya. Are Elven smiths any good?" Akio asked with a curious expression. "There are stores with elven blacksmiths, but are they any better than other blacksmiths?"

Keya stopped and twirled in front of him. The elven girl looked insulted, glaring at her companion with piercing eyes. She placed both hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks. She reprimanded fumingly, "How dare you! Our blacksmiths are the most talented of the elvish race! It is an insult to say that anything they've crafted is less than befitting!" she was unaware of the attention she was drawing from her outburst.

Akio backed away in shock. It was the first time seeing Keya so angry compared to her sunny disposition. He smiled and raised his hands nonthreateningly. He whispered in an apologetic tone, "Calm down! I didn't mean anything offensive! I was just asking!"

They heard chuckling from behind them. Keya and Akio turned their attention to a shop where two dwarves sat outside, smoking long wooden pipes while lounging in the sunlight.

They took a hit and blew rings of smoke as they exhaled. Keya glared, waiting for one of the dwarves to speak.

"If there is something you wish to say, then speak!?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Tapping the bottom of the pipe to throw away the burned tobacco, the red-bearded dwarf spoke up. He said in an accent, "You say the elves are the best blacksmiths, lass, but you be mistaken."

"Ay! The best blacksmiths in the world are the dwarves for we make the strongest, sturdiest, and most durable weapons to ever exist," said the black-bearded dwarf with pride. "The only thing the elven smiths know what to do is carefully placing jewels on silverware and rings!"

Then the two burst in hysteria. Unbeknownst to them, Keya was about to lose her cool. She had been so insulted in her life. However, this was not an insult to her personal pride, but an insult to the elven people, and she just couldn't stand it when people besmirched her race.

Biting down on her teeth, Keya exploded in a maelstrom of fury and rage, spatting at the dwarves who seemed unfazed by her ranting, saying, "Listen here, you arrogant little knuckle-draggers! We elves have known the craft of metal before you lot burst out of the grown, and you have the gull to say…"

Luckily, Akio was quick to silence her, covering her mouth with his hand and restraining her as he moved back, trying his best to hold her still despite her body thrusting furiously.

He smiled meekly and bowed his head. He said in respect, "I'm terribly sorry for my friend's outburst! We've been walking all day and she's just tired! Please forgive her and we'll be on our way!" with that settled, Akio dragged Keya away, ignoring the looks they were receiving from that little incident.

30-minutes-later, Keya finally cooled down, albeit still looking a little earnest as she walked beside her friend with a scowl.

"Did you really have to yell a those two just because of a one little insult?" Akio questioned with an arched eyebrow.

Puffing her cheeks, Keya snapped her neck to the boy and countered while crossing her arms, "Yes! Yes, I did! As a noble lady of the elven race, I was taught to be proud of my heritage, no matter what other races say…especially what a bunch of dwarves have to say." The last part she said was low yet seethed with venom.

Akio was flabbergasted. This was a side of Keya he had never seen before. All Akio could think was: What does Keya have against the dwarves?

25-minutes-later, the two had walked into one of the smith shops. Albert's Repair Shop was what it was called. Keya and Akio proceeded inside and when they brought the Blade of Accord to the owner, he examined it with a pair of goggles with three lenses to adjust the view.

"Well, this is a very old sword!" the owner said in astonishment, carefully holding the blade up to his face. "I might be able to fix it…for the cost of 20 silver coins."

Keya and Akio's jaws immediately dropped to the floor upon hearing the price.

"We…we don't have that much money!" Akio exclaimed with bulging eyes.

"D-don't you h-have a cheaper price f-for repairs?!" inquired Keya, stuttering while droplets of sweat fell from her pretty face.

Scratching the stubbles of his chin, Albert leaned back from the counter against the wall and shrugged. He declared with a half-hearted apology, "I'm sorry, but that's the price for repairs in my shop, and even if you ask another store, it'll be the same. Nothing's cheap in Strongfair."

Sad and dejected, Keya and Akio were about to exit the shop with their heads staring at the floor. However, they halted their leave when the shopkeeper called them out.

"Although, there is one shop that has cheaper prices."

The two looked back, listening carefully with long grins filled with hope.

"There's a shop about three blocks away from here, up west, that's owned by an elderly dwarf and his granddaughter," he continued.

Keya's grin quickly dropped from hearing the word "Dwarf". Akio noticed it, but didn't bother to ask what was wrong. So, he turned and resumed listening.

"The old man's is really talented, able to make high-quality weapons with only the finest materials, yet it's a mystery where he get's them. I met the guy myself and he's a real queer fellow, always jolly and humble, and never being rude or miserly with the customers. Probably, the reason why they're at such a cheap price is because he's a nice guy and just makes enough to survive, or something like that.

His granddaughter, on the other hand, is a real spitfire. While she helps her grandfather around the house, she can be like a stubborn caretaker, working around the house while making sure her grandfather doesn't croak. She even haggles the customers with higher prices, making them spend more money on the items that don't even cost much."

She sounds like someone you don't want to mess with! Akio grimaced at the thought of such a girl. Keya, however, remained deadpanned.

"If you are going over there, make sure it's the shabby brown and red shack with the sign 'Faldrum's Smithy.' If you go pass that, you've gone too far."

Keya and Akio left the repair shop, thanking the shopkeeper for all his help and proceeded up west. It took them 15 minutes of passerby's bumping into them, but their faces lit up when they saw the red and brown shack in front of them. However, they were dumbfounded as there were three red and brown shacks standing up against each other.

"So, which one's the right shack?" Keya asked.

They examined the signs, thoroughly checking each one.

"Tyr…Goldemar…ah, here it is! Faldrum!" Akio shouted happily, having a wide smile on his face. He pointed the finger of his right hand at the house on the right and he and Keya strolled right onto the front door.

When they got a good look, they were baffled.

Akio remarked in a critical tone, "Is this really a shop? It looks like someone's house, instead."

Shrugging her shoulders, Keya mused, "Well, you never know. A dwarven house is known for being very deceitful to the eyes."

Walking up, Akio gingerly knocked on the door three times. There was no answer. So, he tried it again. This time, it was much harder than before. Suddenly, I loud scream was heard from above. The two looked upon and were surprised at the sight of someone falling right at them.

Smack! Akio couldn't see anything. His view was shrouded in darkness and the only thing present was the throbbing pain in the back of his head.

What the hell is this? Why is everything so dark and…what smells like lilies?!

"Akio, are you alright?! Say something?!"

He heard Keya's voice and was relieved that it was close by. He called for help. Unfortunately, there were no words, but a muffling sound. He struggled to breathe, unable to see or move. A soft, warm leathery and somewhat squishy pillow was pressed against the boy's face. It took Akio a moment to realize the logical reason behind this darkness…someone was sitting on his face.

Leaning back up from her almost nasty fall, a young dwarf girl with peach-colored skin, red hair, and emerald green eyes observed her surroundings while rubbing the back of her head. She was dressed in a brown leather bodice top that exposed her cleavage and midriff, tight leather shorts, ankle-high five-laced boots, and a pair of bronze gauntlets with black straps wrapped around her arms.

"Hmm…oh! My head!"

She was made aware at what she had crashed into when she looked down behind her. She gasped with her jaw dropping to the ground. Akio tried to say, "Get off me!" But the message fell to death's ear as the dwarf girl quickly got up and punched the boy right in the face, over and over. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, you freak?! Pervert?!" shouted the dwarf girl in anguish.